Perceived Roles

My idea of what I thought the roles and responsibilities of guidance counselors was distorted by my personal experiences as a student with my high school guidance counselor. I thought they were present to complete student schedules, make corrections to those schedules if necessary, give out vouchers for the SAT and ACT exams, and connect students with military recruiters. Once I became a teacher I was told by a previous principal that the most important position in a school is the guidance counselor's position. After seeing how the guidance counselor at my school connects with the students and how she handles what she perceives as her roles and responsibilities I was (and still am) pleasantly enlightened. Not only does she do the above responsibilities but she connects with the teachers with our schedules and classroom environment. If there is a student that would perform better in another class period then she moves them, she keeps the students and teachers aware of all scholarship and community involvement opportunities, and most importantly, she brags on the students, which I feel is important for the students in our school in particular. She actually listens to the teachers and students in our school. She performs countless other duties that would take me a long time to name but, to say the least, she is awesome. I feel as though she goes above and beyond with her roles and responsibilities as a guidance counselor.